Welcome

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT...

Welcome to another season at North Park Little League Baseball Inc. Your Board of Directors are already in high gear preparing for the 2008 season. As we reflect back on the hard work in 2007, I wish to thank those volunteers who made it possible. We had a great year in 2007, and hope to repeat it and more in 2008. We are proud to announce that the financial health of our league has never been better. We are now in a position to re-invest in our league towards badly needed equipment and capital improvements. We have just purchased break-away bases for all fields as mandated by Little League Baseball. This will go a long way to reduce injuries from sliding. New uniforms have been approved for all levels. Now everyone, from T-ball to softball to seniors, will be wearing a V-neck baseball type jersey, similar to our all-star jerseys. All fields will also have the necessary equipment like hoses, rakes, and chalk machines to insure that the coaches can groom a field properly. Our majors fences are scheduled for repair to the poles. In recent years the fences have been leaning over too far creating a hazard. And we promise this year that OLD GLORY will be waving proudly from our majestic flagpole once again. The crew is scheduled to repair our pole and provide us with a new American flag.

All volunteers will now be wearing ID badges to help you identify league officials. Board members will be wearing blue badges, and all other volunteers will be wearing green ones. All badges will be issued after the required background check has been completed. Parents can now rest assured in knowing who all volunteers are, as well as knowing that all have passed the background check. We are committed to the safety and well being of your child.

You will also see sponsor banners posted on our outfield fences this year. We are now offering our sponsors the ability to purchase a 3’ x 5’ banner that can adorn any field fence they wish. Our hope is to fill the outfield with banners that will reflect a more old time baseball feel. If you or your company would like to sponsor a team and place a banner on a fence, consult our ways and means board member for more information. You can find that link on our board icon on the website.

In addition, there are some changes in pitch count rules and in the way we conduct the majors draft. The new pitch count rules will be discussed at the coaches meeting in January and will be detailed in the coaches packet as well. The most significant change in our local procedures is the elimination of the property player system in our majors division. We have replaced the property draft with the more common re-draft system as used by our minors, juniors, and seniors division. All returning majors players will now enter a re-draft every year. While a player may end up on his or her former team, it is now not automatic. The 2007/2008 Board of Directors felt that a re-draft system was more equitable, provided a better competitive balance, and would ensure the long term success of our entire league. Also, the majors division will now have a four team playoff at the end of the season to determine the TOC representative. There is no longer a first and second half winner. All teams will play a continuous season, and the top four will compete for a playoff spot. There will be two trophy’s given out at the end of the season. One for the first place regular season winner, and one for the TOC champions. This mirrors the playoff format that we implemented last season in the minors.

We at North Park Little League Baseball Inc., are committed to providing the best baseball and softball experience for everyone. Our league functions from the work of a great many volunteers who donate countless hours of time. We are grateful for those who help out, and we are always looking for more people that want to participate in such a wonderful organization. Please let me know if you would like to contribute in keeping North Park Little League Baseball Inc. great.

"Hope to see you on the field!"

John Perretta
President, North Park Little League Baseball Inc.